The Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Advisory Board (FAB) is comprised of a group of alumni and friends of the Faculty from across Canada and around the world who have generously agreed to share their wisdom and energy with Macdonald. Their mandate is to share their invaluable expertise by providing external insights to enhance the Faculty’s mission and promote the Faculty and our students in the broader community.
On May 1, 2020, Éric Gosselin, BScAgr’91, FAB member since 2017 and partner in the Business Law Group in Montreal for McCarthy Tetrault LLP, stepped into the role of FAB Chair for a three-year term. He took some time to answer a few questions about himself, his role as Chair and his vision for the future of the FAB.
Q: Congratulations on your new role as FAB Chair. What originally inspired you to join the Board?
I was approached to join the Board in 2017 by Bernard Poliquin, who chaired the FAB at the time. Studying at Mac was a unique educational experience and I cherish the memory of my years on campus. I am a proud and grateful Mac alumnus! I saw joining the Board as an opportunity to give back and participate more actively in the continued development and vitality of the Mac community.
Q: What is your perspective on the role of the FAB? And what does it mean to you personally to be Chair of the Board?
The FAB serves as a complementary sounding board to Dean Anja Geitmann and the Faculty. It is comprised of a group of industry leaders from across Canada and around the world and together, our role is to offer guidance, input and expertise on various matters to enhance the Faculty’s mission and promote the Faculty and its students in the broader community. Simply put, we are partners in Mac’s advancement and success. It is an honour and a privilege for me to chair the FAB and collaborate with such an exceptional group of people. It’s important to me to take this opportunity to thank each and every FAB member for their invaluable expertise and continued commitment and generosity.
Q: What are your goals for the FAB?
I would sum it up in these three words: collaboration, proactivity and momentum. Mac is obviously poised to play a leadership role in developing world class innovative strategies and solutions to agricultural, nutrition and environmental trends and challenges ahead. Dean Geitmann and the Faculty can count on the FAB’s continued and proactive support in helping to build connections between Mac and the community, including the business community, with a view to optimizing opportunities for advancing the Faculty’s contribution.
Q: What would you like your fellow alumni and friends of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences to think about?
I would challenge everyone to ask themselves the following questions. How can I help Mac and McGill continue to be pioneering leaders in today’s world and these unprecedented times? What can I do to support Mac students in becoming the market-ready workforce that the agricultural, nutritional and environmental industries are craving in Quebec, Canada and around the world? I believe that every contribution counts no matter how big or small.
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk. It sounds like the FAB will be doing some really great work in the coming months/years. Is there anything you would like to add?
I know I speak for all of us at the FAB when I say that we are very much looking forward to continuing to contribute to connecting Mac research and programs more deeply with the community, and to promoting Mac graduates in the industry, for the collective benefit of all.
For a full list of FAB members and their biographies, click here.